Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,284,152 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 209,087 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.7% of UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.74% of Costco Wholesale worth $3,009,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unio Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Unio Capital LLC now owns 16,595 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Vance Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vance Wealth LLC now owns 864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $78,589,000. Worldly Partners Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC now owns 91,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $83,409,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 15,320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,037,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,034.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $458.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $788.20 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $963.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $969.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.